This talk, given by Gyewon Kim of the Department of History of Art and Architecture, addresses how photography engaged with the production of the modern sacred geographies in Japan. It particularly focuses on the meanings and implications of two distinctive photographic events: photography's role in the imperial progresses from 1872-1886; and the part photography played in the commemoration of the emperor's sacred trace, which surfaced in his death in 1912.

Taiko artist Kenny Endo celebrates his 35th year of taiko (Japanese drum) drumming in 2010 with a performance tour featuring an exciting group of musicians from both Japan and the US. One of the leading personas in contemporary percussion and rhythm, Endo is the vanguard of the taiko genre, continuing to pave new paths in this Japanese style of drumming. A performer, composer, and teacher of taiko, he has received numerous awards and accolades. He was the first foreigner to be honored with a 'natori,' stage name, in Japanese classical drumming.

Masayoshi Shibatani, of Rice University, will deliver this talk as part of the Japanese Speaker Series.

The first chapters in the narrative of Islam in the Malay-Indonesian world are dotted with some significant question marks. Nevertheless, it is commonly agreed that it was India that played a particularly important role as the conduit for diffusing the Islamic belief and ideas to the Malay-Indonesian world. It was only in the eighteenth century that the Middle East began to play a prominent role in the narrative of Islam in the Malay-Indonesian world.

The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania and the Toshiba International Foundation are proud to present the Kenny Endo Ensemble Taiko concert at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, located near the North Shore and Heinz Field in Pittsburgh's Manchester neighborhood, just 10 minutes by bus from Downtown. Kenny Endo is a world famous taiko drum artist who has the honor of being the first non-Japanese national to receive the title of Natori (stage name and master's degree) of Hogaku hayashi' traditional drumming.

Lecture by Liangyu Fu of the Department of Communications.

Are you interested in working in Asia? Planning what to do after graduation? Do you want to gain valuable international teaching and working experience? If your answer is YES! come learn more about Peace Corps volunteer work in Asia OR teaching in Japan as part of the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Program, as well as opportunities in other parts of Asia! You'll meet past program representatives and will hear about their experiences, how to apply, what kinds of applicants each program is looking for, and you can ask whatever questions are on your mind! Free and open to the public.

This lecture, delivered by Seung-Hwan Shin of the Department of English & Film Studies Program, will discuss how the western, which once seemed obsolete, came back to life in Asia today and revived interests in old Asian westerns from the 1960s and 1970s as well. Why? How could the nostalgia for a historically/culturally inexperienced West be widely accepted as intelligible and enjoyable in the East? This discussion aims to elucidate the difference/repetition dynamic at work in their nostalgia for imagined histories.

A lecture by Cecile Chu-Chin Sun of the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures, as part of the Asia Over Lunch series.

This session will provide useful information for Japanese-English bilingual students who are interested in working for Japanese companies.